Page 210 of When Sisters Collide
For the first time, Velthur’s mask shifted. His dark brows drew together, the faintest crease of tension marring his expression.
Dorias tugged her arm, urging her forward, but Katell planted her feet, refusing to move. She needed answers.
Velthur’s cold voice cut through the silence. “I suppose you mean my charming little brother?”
Brother?
Katell reeled, trying to twist back towards him, but Dorias’ grip held firm.
“Brother?” she echoed.
Velthur didn’t break stride. “Once upon a time, I was a Megarian prince,” he said, his words almost mocking. “But that kingdom is dead, as is its royal family. I made sure of it when I joined the Emperor.”
Katell froze mid-step, nearly pulling Dorias to a halt. “You’re the one behind the massacre?”
“The Achaean League was doomed. I simply chose the winning side.”
“But the Achaeans blame someone else for betraying them.” Her fists curled, pain flaring with the motion. “You ruined another man’s life!”
Velthur’s smile turned razor-sharp. Not a flicker of remorse crossed his face. “Oh yes, Nikander. His father was a useful pawn.”
The casual dismissal made Katell’s blood boil. “You sacrificed your own family to save your life?” she spat. “You’re nothing but a coward.”
Velthur’s dark gaze locked onto hers, unflinching, like a blade against her throat. “Sacrifices are the foundation of empires, girl. Only children cling to sentimental notions like honour. A coward I may be”—his voice dropped, cold and biting—“but cowards live to see another day. While the brave rot in unmarked graves, forgotten by the world.”
Katell’s nails bit into her palms, and she turned her glare on Dorias. “And these are the kind of men you chose to follow?”
Dorias pulled her closer, the proximity almost intimate, a reminder of what they’d once been. The flickering torchlight carved harsh shadows across his face. “I follow Emperor Caius,” he said, the low words meant for her ears alone. “Velthur is nothing but a leech with no Gifts. Any morsel of power he clings to, he owes entirely to the Emperor.”
Katell shook her head. The Dorias she thought she knew—the man she’d trusted—would never have tolerated such dishonour. “I thought you were better than this.”
For a brief moment, his expression cracked. Hurt flashed in his eyes before he masked it with steely resolve. “Whatever you think of me doesn’t matter,” he said, his voice hardening. “I swore an oath before the gods over my wife and child’s corpses the day of the Westerners’ attack that I would do anything for revenge.”
“Right,” Katell snarled. “Anything, indeed.”
Dorias’ shoulders stiffened, his composure fraying at the edges. “I didn’t mean for it to end like this.”
She scoffed. “How did you think it would end when you betrayed my secrets to the Emperor?”
“Katell—”
“Save it,” she snapped, her anger flaring before it gave way to something colder. “If you feel even a shred of remorse, Dorias—if your feelings for me were ever true, however briefly—then grant me this one favour.”
Dorias’ gaze shifted, softening just enough to show he was listening.
“Keep Leywani safe,” she whispered.
Silence followed, broken only by the steady echo of their boots against the stone floor. At last, Dorias inclined his head in a subtle, almost reluctant nod. It wasn’t much, but it was more than she had dared hope for.
The corridor narrowed, and up ahead loomed a set of heavy wooden doors, their surfaces carved with intricate, faded symbols. The designs seemed to shift in the torchlight, strange and foreboding.
Her pulse quickened. “Where are you taking me?”
The guards moved in unison, pushing open the doors with a slow, grating groan. The Emperor turned, casting a disdainful glance over his shoulder, his expression one of absolute control. Without a word, he swept inside.
Katell hesitated, dread coiling tighter in her gut.
“I’m not sure.” Dorias sounded unusually quiet, almost unnerved. “I’ve never been here before.”
